


...Ready for it?

by thatwasamazing



Series: Reputation [1]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Dreams, Ficlet, M/M, POV Hannibal Lecter, Pining, Smitten Hannibal Lecter, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25658803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwasamazing/pseuds/thatwasamazing
Summary: In the weeks after their first meeting, Hannibal reflects on Will Graham...and what he wants.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Series: Reputation [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860430
Comments: 12
Kudos: 32





	...Ready for it?

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I’ve had this idea in my head for awhile. I rewatch Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour special on Netflix A LOT (it’s seriously amazing, if you haven’t seen it and are even remotely curious I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT), and unsurprisingly I feel like literally all the songs have Hannigram vibes so I thought I’d try making a series of (maybe unrelated?) ficlets out of them. We’ll see how far I get.

  
_Knew he was a killer first time that I saw him_  
_Wonder how many girls he had loved and left haunted_  
_But if he's a ghost, then I can be a phantom_  
_Holdin' him for ransom_

Hannibal recalls the moment he met Will Graham with exceptional clarity. Within minutes of Will sitting down next to him in Jack's office, Hannibal _knew_ that the young man had the potential to be a killer. It was most unexpected, especially within FBI Headquarters, but all the more intriguing for it. He could see it as plain as day, easily recognizing the same detached yet impassioned darkness he has seen and cultivated numerous times in his patients and other people he encounters. He supposes it's like he has a sixth sense for sensing one's capacity for murder. Smiling to himself, he assumes it is because _like recognizes like_. Although _not exactly,_ because even though Hannibal excels at detecting that tendency for depravity in others, he would _never_ deign to put himself on the same levels as those people. _No,_ Hannibal has always found himself superior to his peers in all settings, murder included. After all, it’s not arrogance if it’s the truth. 

Yet Will...there is something about him...something that tells Hannibal that for the first time in his life, he may have met someone truly on his level of greatness. He concedes it's true that Will's murderous potential appears to be unmet, _and_ heavily suppressed to boot, but he has a _massive_ amount of potential, more than Hannibal has ever seen in anyone. It reminds him of himself in his youth and he is struck at how foreign the feeling is to see even a glimpse of his own truth in someone else. It leaves Hannibal in a state he loves but doesn’t get to experience very often...curiosity.

And the more Hannibal looks at Will Graham, the more he finds - the man is a veritable treasure trove of interest. He is a unique package that is both incredibly beautiful...and excitingly unstable. Hannibal wonders how many before him have glimpsed this dark side of Will...and then no doubt tried to “fix” him. They likely meant well in their efforts in trying to help him become more stable, but ultimately succeeding in only driving the young empath further away until he was alone with his vivid imagination and conflicted yearnings once more. Hannibal can envision it so easily it's almost comical. No wonder Will was so hostile with him that first day in Jack's office after he learned Hannibal was a psychiatrist.

It was immediately obvious to Hannibal that no one else has truly seen the entirety of who Will really is, or more accurately, _what he could be._ But Hannibal intends to coax Will to his full potential, to hold him hostage under any guise necessary - friendship, therapy, romance - until he can release that beautiful monster he knows lurks within him. With this thought Hannibal can't help but smile again, looking forward to getting started.

_Some, some boys are tryin' too hard_  
_He don't try at all, though_  
_Younger than my exes but he act like such a man, so_  
_I see nothing better, I keep him forever_  
_Like a vendetta-ta_

As he begins to manipulate Will, encouraging and exploring his darker side through their _conversations_ , Hannibal is surprised to learn that his initial aesthetic appreciation and psychological curiosity about the young man quickly becomes a full blown crush, maybe more, complete with a nice helping of sexual attraction. Upon his realization Hannibal is shocked, for he honestly can't even remember the last time he had a crush on _anyone_. Usually people are amusing or useful for a period of time, but he truly can't recall desiring someone with this intensity before now. It's maddening. And it's not that the feelings themselves are unwelcome, but this was not his intention at all. People are usually caught in _his_ web, not vice versa.

What’s even more frustrating is that not only is Will seemingly oblivious to his feelings, but it’s like the young man exudes sex appeal without even trying! Which is in stark contrast to one of Hannibal's other patients, Franklyn. Hannibal is 100% sure the pudgy man is attracted to him, and he absolutely despises his frequent attempts to gain his favor. He truly is the penultimate example of trying too hard, to the point where every word out of his mouth feels creepy. It's actually quite sad because Franklyn is obviously trying to compensate for his complete lack of anything to offer, romantically or otherwise. Whereas Will is virtually dripping in interest, beauty, and seduction, and seems completely unaware of it! Maddening.

And the more Hannibal looks at Will week after week, the more he finds that he likes. Despite being about ten years his junior, which a little younger than Hannibal would usually consider for a romantic partner, Will is by far the manliest man Hannibal has ever met. On other men Hannibal would find the sight of so much flannel and the residual smell of engine grease disgusting, but somehow on Will it only serves to heighten his impression of being a rustic rugged man - someone strong and competent...and likely good with his hands.

And _lord,_ Hannibal has dreamed about Will’s hands on more than one occasion. Which Hannibal refuses to feel guilty about because honestly it's like the young man tortures him with them each session they have! Hannibal has lost count of how many times he has watched, rapt, as Will slowly meanders around the his office, touching nearly everything within his reach - gently caressing the spines of his books, the rungs of the ladder, the smooth top to his desk, his high back leather chair... Everything _except_ what Hannibal wants - more than anything he wants those hands on his own body.

It takes nearly all of Hannibal's copious self control to prevent his own hand from reaching out to take Will's calloused one in his own when the man finally returns to the designated patient chair, leaning forward into Hannibal's space and casually interweaving his fingers. Will is so close that Hannibal can smell him his atrociously cheap aftershave - another thing that should repulse him but doesn't. In fact every time he smells it his treacherous brain conjures images of bathing will to remove it, or rubbing his own body against Will's until he is coated in his own scent. Consequently Hannibal has to shut his eyes for a moment against the surge of arousal inside of him, thinking surely that this man is going to be the death of him, one way or another. And right now he can't honestly say he minds - if anyone was going to kill him, it would be an honor for it to be at Will's hand.

It is after this particular session that Hannibal’s dreams become so vivid that he decides he can resist no longer. And at three in the morning, laying sweaty on his silk sheets, alone in the dark, he makes a decision - Will is the one for him. Hannibal honestly never thought he'd want a partner in life, but in Will he can see it so easily; someone he could share _every_ part of himself with forever. With Will, neither of them would have to be alone ever again.

  
_I-I-I see how this is gon' go_  
_Touch me and you'll never be alone_  
_I-Island breeze and lights down low_  
_No one has to know_

  
_In the middle of the night, in my dreams_  
_You should see the things we do, baby_  
_In the middle of the night, in my dreams_  
_I know I'm gonna be with you_  
_So I take my time_  
_Are you ready for it?_

Soon enough Hannibal’s dreams evolve, further exposing more of his unspoken desires. In his most recent dream, much to his delight Will is the one to approach him. It's as if time slows as Will enters his personal space, his ocean blue eyes blazing like the hottest fire - Hannibal couldn't look away if he tried. He has the sense he is being stalked, hunted, and yet somehow he also feels safe - how can that be? He doesn't have long to ponder it before Will has reached out and taken his face in his work-roughened hands. And the second Will's skin touches his own, it's seriously as if gravity no longer exists, that Hannibal is no longer held to the earth but instead held to Will. It's a comfortable feeling, like coming home, how inexorably intertwined they are, like long lost soul mates who finally found one another. The imagined physical intimacy they share in the dream following that moment is overwhelmingly intense yet nebulous, with Hannibal not truly able to discern where his dream self ends and Will’s dream self begins. It's like they are one perfect being.

After a few such dreams, some details become clearer. For one, Hannibal notices surprisingly that often his dreams with Will take place in a tropical location. He likes to imagine that in those dreams maybe they have fled to Cuba together after a murder spree. Hannibal is sure if such a thing ever happened Will would be like the version he sees in his dreams - glorious, confident and undeniably dangerous. They would exist as equals, far better together than they could ever be alone. In these dreams Hannibal's imagination runs wild, for they do _everything_ with one another - kiss tenderly and passionately - sometimes still soaked in the blood of their kills, gently make love in the moonlight streaming through the window, or fuck roughly with the lights down low - savagely like animals, each taking turns being taken. No one would know who they are or what unspeakable things they've done. It would be perfect because they would have each other - someone who _really sees_ them, and loves them not in spite of their darkness, but for it. Hannibal never tires of these dreams but each one makes him _want,_ with a capital W. 

But similar to how Hannibal knows Will has the potential for murder, he also somehow _knows_ that it is only a matter of time before his dreams will become reality. Despite Will’s initial obliviousness, in the past few sessions Hannibal has begun to see signs that Will is intrigued by him too. That he also feels that same curious magnetic pull they have towards one another. Where once Hannibal wanted to manipulate Will, now he wants Will to make the choice on his own, to actively choose him and his way of life, cannibalism and all. He is confident it is a matter of when, not if, so despite Hannibal's pressing want, he is content to bide his time waiting for the inevitable… and contents himself with looking forward to reaping the rewards when they finally get their happily ever after. 

  
_Me, I was a robber first time that he saw me_  
_Stealing hearts and running off and never saying sorry_  
_But if I'm a thief, then he can join the heist_  
_And we'll move to an island-and_

  
_And he can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor_  
_Every lover known in comparison is a failure_  
_I forget their names now, I'm so very tame now_  
_Never be the same now, now_

The waiting gives Hannibal lots of time to reflect on his life and relationships before he met Will - which now seem like a lifetime ago. More than once he has been called an unapologetic stealer of hearts, for he can find partners of both genders easily. He knows he is good looking, charming, well educated, well off, and cultured - a rare combination based on what he has observed of the general population. But no one has ever been able to keep his attention for long. And there is no one he _ever_ considered revealing his true self too...none until Will.

There are moments when the depths of his growing love for Will scares Hannibal, for he can easily see himself throwing caution to the wind, taking unnecessary risks...even turning himself in just to have Will’s attention if it came to it (he hopes it won’t). That night Hannibal is amused that in his dream this time Will is cast as his jailer, detaining him in their secluded island bungalow and has him tied to a wicker chair...but for pleasurable purposes. The mental image of Will, half naked in the darkness, cerulean eyes shining brightly as he approaches is arresting, and Hannibal is sure that the real thing would be blinding in it’s radiance. And god help him, Hannibal knows he would do anything for Will - hell he might even stop killing if Will asked him to! But he knows Will would never ask that from him - if Hannibal is right about Will he would know all too well how damaging and usually unsuccessful suppressing one's desires are.

The fierceness of his love for Will honestly makes all of Hannibal’s previous relationships look like jokes, they truly pale in comparison and seem to evaporate from his mind as he tries to recall them. It’s like drinking boxed wine after you've tried Bâtard-Montrachet - once you’ve had quality, anything else is laughingly inadequate. For he would never ever compromise the carefully constructed life he has built for himself for anyone else...but for Will he would. In fact without even knowing it, Will has tamed him. One word from Will and Hannibal would comply. A part of him is scared for Will to discover the power he has over him...but another part of him is incredibly curious what Will will do with that power once he realizes he has it. Part of Will's appeal is the enigma of his mind - Hannibal can never truly predict him, and that in and of itself is exciting. Regardless, Hannibal knows that already Will has permanently changed him, shown him what he thought was impossible - that he can love again after the death of his sister, and that there is someone out there worthy of his love.

  
_..._  
_Baby, let the games begin_  
_Let the games begin_  
_Let the games begin_  
_Are you ready for it?_

  
And now Hannibal just has to wait for Will to come to him. He is confident it will happen eventually - he just has to be patient and play the game. Up until now the world has been his to play with, as if he's a cat and everyone else are mice...but now he has met another cat. _Let the games begin,_ Hannibal thinks, looking forward to the challenge. However he can't help but wonder...is Will ready for it? He’s going to find out.

**Author's Note:**

> ♥ I'd love to hear your feedback in a comment below! or hmu [here](https://madsteacup.tumblr.com) on tumblr ^_^ ♥
> 
> If you like the story feel free to share it [here on tumblr](https://madsteacup.tumblr.com/post/625317075755352064/ready-for-it-thatwasamazing-hannibal-tv) or [here on twitter](https://twitter.com/madsteacup/status/1289808303430594560?s=20)


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